Cryptocurrency: CBDC's WarOnCash and Govt Debt's WarOnYou

[grarpamp]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/government-debt-in-2021/
https://howmuch.net/articles/state-of-the-worlds-government-debt-2021
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/americas-debt-27-trillion-and-counting/



https://www.ft.com/content/0080a5ed-4717-4ba3-9415-111b6fc82dcf

EU Launches "Digital Wallet" In Latest Step Toward 'Cashless Society'

Despite the concerns about digital privacy being invaded by the
"vaccine passports" that Europe has demanded of travelers, the EU is
pressing ahead with plans to launch a "digital wallet" that would
carry digital copies of a drivers' license and credit cards (sort of
like Apple Pay does) as Europe continues its transition away from
cash.

According to the FT, the EU is preparing to unveil its plans for the
bloc-wide "digital wallet" on Wednesday. The product is the result of
what Brussels described as several states' demands for the EU to
create a digital tool to access important records and other products
and services via the smartphone.

The EU's Thierry Breton

A digital wallet could store payment details and passwords, and allow
citizens from all 27 countries to log into local government websites
or pay utility bills or perhaps even merchants using a single
recognized identity.

Like with other smartphone apps, the digital wallets will be accessed
via fingerprint and/or retina scanning. It can also serve as a vault
where users can store official documents such as a driver’s license.
Using the wallet will not be compulsory, but EU citizens who chose to
sign up would benefit from an extra-secure digital ecosystem and
greater flexibility ideal for post-pandemic life.

    "The new digital ID will give every European the keys to their
digital twin," Thierry Breton, and EU commissioner in charge of
digital policy, said in a speech earlier this year.

EU officials plan to make it illegal for companies to use any data
gleaned from these 'digital passports' for marketing or any other
commercial purpose, the FT said. Brussels is engaged in discussions
with member states to provide guidelines on technical standards for
the rollout of the digital wallet, which is expected to be fully
operational in about a year.

But here's the bottom line: The EU digital wallet is "simple, secure
and it will protect people online”, said a person with direct
knowledge of the plans. "People will also have the power to decide how
much information they give out while Google and others don’t let you
decide what you’re giving away."

So far, the program has seen limited interest, with only 19 member
states moving to introduce the digital wallets to their citizens, and
unfortunately not all of them are cross-compatible. But regulators
hope that the rise in "digital literacy" driven by the pandemic will
help make the "digital wallet" more popular. After all: who wants to
keep carrying around all those annoying ID and credit cards?

What if, instead of carrying a wallet and a phone, we just carried a phone?




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https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/covid_19_and_the_war_on_cash_what_is_behind_the_push_for_a_cashless_society_short

Cash may well become a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic...

As these COVID-19 lockdowns drag out, more and more individuals and
businesses are going cashless (for convenience and in a so-called
effort to avoid spreading coronavirus germs), engaging in online
commerce or using digital forms of currency (bank cards, digital
wallets, etc.). As a result, physical cash is no longer king.

Yet there are other, more devious, reasons for this re-engineering of
society away from physical cash: a cashless society—easily monitored,
controlled, manipulated, weaponized and locked down—would play right
into the hands of the government (and its corporate partners).

To this end, the government and its corporate partners-in-crime have
been waging a subtle war on cash for some time now.

What is this war on cash?

It’s a concerted campaign to shift consumers towards a digital mode of
commerce that can easily be monitored, tracked, tabulated, mined for
data, hacked, hijacked and confiscated when convenient.

According to economist Steve Forbes,

    “The real reason for this war on cash - start with the big bills
and then work your way down - is an ugly power grab by Big Government.
People will have less privacy: Electronic commerce makes it easier for
Big Brother to see what we’re doing, thereby making it simpler to bar
activities it doesn’t like, such as purchasing salt, sugar, big
bottles of soda and Big Macs.”

Much like the war on drugs and the war on terror, this so-called “war
on cash” is being sold to the public as a means of fighting
terrorists, drug dealers, tax evaders and now COVID-19 germs.

Digital currency provides the government and its corporate partners
with the ultimate method to track, control you and punish you.

In much the same way that Americans have opted into government
surveillance through the convenience of GPS devices and cell phones,
digital cash—the means of paying with one’s debit card, credit card or
cell phone—is becoming the de facto commerce of the American police
state.

Not too long ago, it was estimated that smart phones would replace
cash and credit cards altogether by 2020. Right on schedule, a growing
number of businesses are adopting no-cash policies, including certain
airlines, hotels, rental car companies, restaurants and retail stores.
In Sweden, even the homeless and churches accept digital cash.

Making the case for “never, ever carrying cash” in lieu of a digital
wallet, journalist Lisa Rabasca Roepe argues that cash is
inconvenient, ATM access is costly, and it’s now possible to reimburse
people using digital apps such as Venmo. Thus, there’s no longer a
need for cash.

    “More and more retailers and grocery stores are embracing Apple
Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay,” notes Roepe.

    “PayPal's app is now accepted at many chain stores including
Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker, Home Depot, and Office Depot. Walmart and
CVS have both developed their own payment apps while their competitors
Target and RiteAid are working on their own apps.”

So what’s the deal here?

Despite all of the advantages that go along with living in a digital
age—namely, convenience—it’s hard to imagine how a cashless world
navigated by way of a digital wallet doesn’t signal the beginning of
the end for what little privacy we have left and leave us vulnerable
to the likes of government thieves and data hackers.

    First, when I say privacy, I’m not just referring to the things
that you don’t want people to know about, those little things you do
behind closed doors that are neither illegal nor harmful but
embarrassing or intimate. I am also referring to the things that are
deeply personal and which no one need know about, certainly not the
government and its constabulary of busybodies, nannies, Peeping Toms,
jail wardens and petty bureaucrats.

    Second, we’re already witnessing how easy it will be for
government agents to manipulate digital wallets for their own gain.
For example, civil asset forfeiture schemes are becoming even more
profitable for police agencies thanks to ERAD (Electronic Recovery and
Access to Data) devices supplied by the Department of Homeland
Security that allow police to not only determine the balance of any
magnetic-stripe card (i.e., debit, credit and gift cards) but also
freeze and seize any funds on pre-paid money cards. In fact, the
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it does not violate the
Fourth Amendment for police to scan or swipe your credit card.

    Third, the war on cash is about giving the government the ultimate
control of the economy and complete access to the citizenry’s
pocketbook.

    Fourth, every technological convenience that has made our lives
easier has also become our Achilles’ heel, opening us up to greater
vulnerabilities from hackers and government agents alike.

    Fifth, if there’s one entity that will not stop using cash for its
own nefarious purposes, it’s the U.S. government. Cash is the currency
used by the government to pay off its foreign “associates.”

    Sixth, this drive to do away with cash is part of a larger global
trend driven by international financial institutions and the United
Nations that is transforming nations of all sizes, from the smallest
nation to the biggest, most advanced economies.

    Finally, short of returning to a pre-technological, Luddite age,
there’s really no way to pull this horse back now that it’s left the
gate. While doing so is near impossible, it would also mean doing
without the many conveniences and advantages that are the better
angels, if you will, of technology’s totalitarian tendencies: the
internet, medical advances, etc.

To our detriment, we have virtually no control over who accesses our
private information, how it is stored, or how it is used. Whether we
ever had much control remains up for debate. However, in terms of our
bargaining power over digital privacy rights, we have been reduced to
a pitiful, unenviable position in which we can only hope and trust
that those in power will treat our information with respect.




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